Mockingjay

by

Suzanne Collins

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Gale Hawthorne Character Analysis

A friend of Katniss Everdeen and a fellow resident of District 12, Gale undergoes arguably the most shocking transformation in Mockingjay. Though he’s known Katniss for her entire life, he displays subtle signs of moving away from her, even as he continues to love her—both romantically and as a friend. It is Gale who callously proposes that the rebels bomb a civilian area in District 2, reasoning that the government has already bombed his own home—a rationale that horrifies Katniss. In the end, Gale represents a harsh, vindictive mindset that Katniss finds attractive, but ultimately can’t embrace. While Katniss settles down with Peeta, a far gentler person, Gale takes a prestigious job in the rebels’ new government, indicating that his talents for cold, almost inhuman decision-making will serve him well.

Gale Hawthorne Quotes in Mockingjay

The Mockingjay quotes below are all either spoken by Gale Hawthorne or refer to Gale Hawthorne. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Revolution and Its Problems Theme Icon
).
Chapter 6 Quotes

Haymitch holds up the notepad. "So, the question is, what do all of these have in common?"
"They were Katniss's," says Gale quietly. "No one told her what to do or say."

"Unscripted, yes!" says Beetee. He reaches over and pats my hand. "So we should just leave you alone, right?"
People laugh. I even smile a little.

Related Characters: Katniss Everdeen (speaker), Gale Hawthorne (speaker), Haymitch Abernathy (speaker), Beetee (speaker)
Page Number: 75
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 14 Quotes

It's only now that he's been corrupted that I can fully appreciate the real Peeta. Even more than I would've if he'd died. The kindness, the steadiness, the warmth that had an unexpected heat behind it. Outside of Prim, my mother, and Gale, how many people in the world love me unconditionally?

Related Characters: Katniss Everdeen (speaker), Peeta Mellark, Gale Hawthorne, Primrose (Prim) Everdeen, Katniss’s mother
Page Number: 195
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 26 Quotes

"I brought you this." Gale holds up a sheath. When I take it, I notice it holds a single, ordinary arrow.
"It's supposed to be symbolic. You firing the last shot of the war."
"What if I miss?" I say. "Does Coin retrieve it and bring it back to me? Or just shoot Snow through the head herself?"
"You won't miss." Gale adjusts the sheath on my shoulder. We stand there, face-to-face, not meeting each other's eyes.
"You didn't come see me in the hospital."
He doesn't answer, so finally I just say it.
"Was it your bomb?"
"I don't know. Neither does Beetee," he says. "Does it matter? You'll always be thinking about it."

Related Characters: Katniss Everdeen (speaker), Gale Hawthorne (speaker), President Alma Coin, President Coriolanus Snow, Beetee
Related Symbols: Arrow, The Double Bomb
Page Number: 366-367
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 27 Quotes

Peeta and I grow back together. There are still moments when he clutches the back of a chair and hangs on until the flashbacks are over. I wake screaming from nightmares of mutts and lost children. But his arms are there to comfort me. And eventually his lips. On the night I feel that thing again, the hunger that overtook me on the beach, I know this would have happened anyway. That what I need to survive is not Gale's fire, kindled with rage and hatred. I have plenty of fire myself. What I need is the dandelion in the spring. The bright yellow that means rebirth instead of destruction. The promise that life can go on, no matter how bad our losses. That it can be good again. And only Peeta can give me that. So after, when he whispers, "You love me. Real or not real?" I tell him, "Real."

Related Characters: Katniss Everdeen (speaker), Peeta Mellark (speaker), Gale Hawthorne
Page Number: 388
Explanation and Analysis:
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Gale Hawthorne Quotes in Mockingjay

The Mockingjay quotes below are all either spoken by Gale Hawthorne or refer to Gale Hawthorne. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Revolution and Its Problems Theme Icon
).
Chapter 6 Quotes

Haymitch holds up the notepad. "So, the question is, what do all of these have in common?"
"They were Katniss's," says Gale quietly. "No one told her what to do or say."

"Unscripted, yes!" says Beetee. He reaches over and pats my hand. "So we should just leave you alone, right?"
People laugh. I even smile a little.

Related Characters: Katniss Everdeen (speaker), Gale Hawthorne (speaker), Haymitch Abernathy (speaker), Beetee (speaker)
Page Number: 75
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 14 Quotes

It's only now that he's been corrupted that I can fully appreciate the real Peeta. Even more than I would've if he'd died. The kindness, the steadiness, the warmth that had an unexpected heat behind it. Outside of Prim, my mother, and Gale, how many people in the world love me unconditionally?

Related Characters: Katniss Everdeen (speaker), Peeta Mellark, Gale Hawthorne, Primrose (Prim) Everdeen, Katniss’s mother
Page Number: 195
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 26 Quotes

"I brought you this." Gale holds up a sheath. When I take it, I notice it holds a single, ordinary arrow.
"It's supposed to be symbolic. You firing the last shot of the war."
"What if I miss?" I say. "Does Coin retrieve it and bring it back to me? Or just shoot Snow through the head herself?"
"You won't miss." Gale adjusts the sheath on my shoulder. We stand there, face-to-face, not meeting each other's eyes.
"You didn't come see me in the hospital."
He doesn't answer, so finally I just say it.
"Was it your bomb?"
"I don't know. Neither does Beetee," he says. "Does it matter? You'll always be thinking about it."

Related Characters: Katniss Everdeen (speaker), Gale Hawthorne (speaker), President Alma Coin, President Coriolanus Snow, Beetee
Related Symbols: Arrow, The Double Bomb
Page Number: 366-367
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 27 Quotes

Peeta and I grow back together. There are still moments when he clutches the back of a chair and hangs on until the flashbacks are over. I wake screaming from nightmares of mutts and lost children. But his arms are there to comfort me. And eventually his lips. On the night I feel that thing again, the hunger that overtook me on the beach, I know this would have happened anyway. That what I need to survive is not Gale's fire, kindled with rage and hatred. I have plenty of fire myself. What I need is the dandelion in the spring. The bright yellow that means rebirth instead of destruction. The promise that life can go on, no matter how bad our losses. That it can be good again. And only Peeta can give me that. So after, when he whispers, "You love me. Real or not real?" I tell him, "Real."

Related Characters: Katniss Everdeen (speaker), Peeta Mellark (speaker), Gale Hawthorne
Page Number: 388
Explanation and Analysis: